Top 5 Articles of 2012 on Psychology Matters

Published on December 28, 2012

The year has gone by in the blink of an eye and 2012 is coming to an end. Since we are all still here despite the predicted end of the world, let's take some time to look back at some of the articles that you enjoyed the most in the past year. We will continue working hard to give you more articles that you can enjoy reading or find useful in the new year!

As a practising psychologist in Singapore, I often receive calls from distraught family members asking what they can do if they have a family member or friend who they suspect is suffering from depression but who is reluctant to see a mental health professional.

The main goal in this situation, is to make sure the person gets an appropriate diagnosis and then start treatment by a mental health professional if he or she does in fact have depression. This article contains a list of suggestions and possible interventions on how you can help the person achieve this goal.

Have you ever had thoughts, feelings or acted in ways that were unacceptable to yourself but felt powerless to control? The purpose of this post is to help you find ways to manage your mind so that you can live your life more in accordance with what your own judgment says is best for you.

As we grow up, we gradually become aware of the many things in the external world which are largely beyond our ability to control. These include other people in general and most events in our lives. Initially this is difficult to accept, but a more shocking realization is that there are many things about ourselves that we seem powerless to control.

What is our risk of developing a mental illness over the course of our entire lives and which types of mental illnesses are we most likely to develop? These questions are not just academic in nature because the answers are of great practical importance to all of us. We need this information if we are to be prepared for its occurrence, or even prevent it from occurring. The fact is that most of us are quite likely to go through life without ever thinking about mental illness until it occurs in a family member, a friend, or ourselves. In this event we may react with surprise, shock and perhaps even anger. To be forewarned it to be forearmed.

Most of us worry about the possibility of getting physically sick at some time in our life and that is why insurance coverage of medical diseases is so common. However, how many of us even think about developing a psychological illness let alone get insurance coverage for it?

Yet a recent and very reliable survey in the United States (US) concluded that about half of the population will experience a mental disorder of some kind, at some time in their life.

Positive Psychology is an exciting and relatively new area of psychology. It aims to study scientifically what makes us humans happy and how we can improve our general level of happiness, well-being, and health. Traditionally, the field of psychology has mainly focused on the negative aspects of mental health and how to treat them.